Currently the Emergency Alert System (EAS) makes use of broadcasters, cable television systems, wireless cable systems, satellite and radio service providers as the means to provide communications of emergency information. As understood herein, the Internet may also be used to disseminate emergency alerts.
The present invention recognizes that as more TVs become Internet-enabled, reverse 911s can be broadcast to the IP addresses of the TVs. As understood herein, however, an intended recipient's TV might be turned off when a reverse 911 is sent. As also understood herein, without an ability to acknowledge a reverse 911, emergency service providers have no way of knowing who has received the alert and who has not, requiring, for instance, police or firefighters to expend time checking on residences that already are aware of the emergency condition and have taken action accordingly.